Welcome
to the world of Ram Gopal Verma where
every non-living and immovable objects
in and around your house is as scary as
the ghost itself. Phoonk was a surprise
hit 2 years ago but it scared you only
in bits and pieces but overall a big disappointment.
Phoonk 2 comes with a tag 'The First was
a Warning' – was that a sign for
the audience to decipher? Indians, said
to have one of the worst memory when it
comes to entertainment material, would
anyone care? I surely hope they wouldn’t,
as Milind Gadagkar has come up with a
movie which is far better than its predecessor.

As the camera flaunts carelessly through
the 3 bedroom bungalow we are not just
hooked to the seats but also on the edge
of it trying hard to see through the gaps
of our fingers the exploits of a demented
soul. Milind has used every single

Hollywood cliché and it gets rather predictable
after a point, like when the most scared person walking
across the bungalow alone at night, or when the children
don’t care about the signs and enter a jungle,
the mirror effect and the late reaction from the hero,
A couple who are there only to increase the sex-appeal
and to increase the death rate, so on and so forth.
But what captivates in this one hour fifty minutes
flick is that the director has brilliantly set the
eerie environment and also has upped the helplessness
quotient to the extreme and all we can do is pray
for the protagonist to somehow bring the situation
under control.

Logic surely does take a beating in Indian horror
movies and this is no exception. The movie ends abruptly
or actually without the end of the soul, as the protagonist
has just destroyed the carrier and not the ghost.
With such a horrifying past no one would even think
of living in an uninhabited place next to a jungle.
But again the scary scenes just out-number the flaws
and we can let go as we have done for many Indian
horror movies in the past. Milind Gadagkar screenplay
takes some time to unravel but once it does it moves
at a fast pace which is praiseworthy as he thankfully
doesn’t lose focus. If the doll was a little
more mechanised except for turning its head, it would
have increased the impact manifold.

With some terrifying camera work by Charles Meher
who with ease moves in and out the bungalow and flies
above it to frighten you as well. Brilliant work!
Background music needs more punch as Rahul Pandirkar
could have played even more to scare you in the first
half but he comes to form only in the second. Vinod
Chliparambil and Radhey Lalsa's editing needs more
touching up to do. The effects could have been better.

Sudeep continues from where he left off and has done
a pretty good work at it, Amrutha Khanvikar impresses
with her antics. Ahsaas Channa over does her part.
Neeru Singh brings in the glamour quotient, and even
though the movie didn’t need it no one seems
to complain. Others in the cast hardly impress to
get noticed.

The movie does suffer from clichés and low
production value but it scores high in showing the
turmoil of a helpless father. Phoonk 2 is a decent
horror movie, after maybe RGV's 'Kaun' a Hindi horror
movie which tries to frighten you by stressing helplessness.